The Wind Group to show off re-born Newtown facility

Updated 9:42 pm, Wednesday, October 3, 2012

The purchase of a commercial building in Newtown has given a family-owned Fairfield County metal-products manufacturer an opportunity to expand its business.

The Wind Group, originally located in Danbury, knew it had to relocate to a bigger property to grow, and found an under-utilized 60,000-square-foot building at 30 Pecks Lane in Newtown, owned and occupied by Neumade Inc., a maker of projection room equipment for the cinema industry.

"We bought the building and equipment and moved in March. We paid just under $3 million. I think we got a huge deal," said President Patrick Wind, who will host a reception on Thursday at 5 p.m., for political candidates and area dignitaries.

The purpose, he said, is to show that manufacturing still has a role in the state's economy.

"We need this. It's the kind of development we need in town," he said.

The Wind Group consolidated its operations from two leased buildings in Danbury and increased its employment roll, Wind said, commenting that the business had less that 20 employees at the end of 2011 but expects to have more than 30 by the end of 2012. He expects to have about 40 employees in 2013.

The company operates Wind Hardware and Engineering, which makes cam locks, drawer slides, furniture locks, hinges, fasteners and handles; Zephyr Lock for lockers; Zephyr Fluid Solutions, the maker of 5-gallon water storage, merchandising and dispensing hardware for home, office, retail and institutional use; and Windmade Products, providing metal fabrication, machining and powder coating services. Among its products is a line of painted metal cabinets.

It also continues Neumade's history as a supplier of projection room equipment.

"We're talking with three large Connecticut manufacturers as subcontractors or manufacturers of their products," Wind said, adding that it is a supplier to Sikorsky Aircraft in Stratford. "We expect to close on one or two of them to bring our capacity to 70 to 80 percent."

"There are a number of companies in Connecticut that have found their niche and continue to do well," he said.

The Wind Group is one of 4,937 manufacturing companies in the state, employing 168,200 people,according to CONNSTEP, a non-profit business consulting organization focusing on small- to medium-size Connecticut manufacturers and supported by the state Department of Economic and Community Development.

The total has declined but the remaining companies have become smarter in the way they operate, said CONNSTEP spokeswoman Rebecca Mead.

"We're seeing a lot of companies do everything they can to be more efficient so they can take on more work and maintain their workforces," she said.